


Smother

by perniciousLizard



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Illnesses, Papyrus-centric, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Sick Character, background sansby, just like one line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 19:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12139332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perniciousLizard/pseuds/perniciousLizard
Summary: Papyrus is sick, and now it's Undyne's turn to take care of him.





	Smother

**Author's Note:**

> grumpyoldsnake requested a continuation of [this story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11093403). Undyne makes good on her promise/threat to help Papyrus when he gets sick. This story takes place in a sans/grillby series, to fit with the prompt, but it isn't relevant to this story if you are exclusively interested in gen.
> 
> Thank you to grumpyoldsnake for beta-ing their own prompt fill!

It was Sans' betrayal that hurt the most.  His own  _ brother _ .  

Papyrus sat up in bed, arms crossed.  Someone might uncharitably describe him as 'pouting like a babybones,' but he considered himself completely justified in his anger.  It was a righteous fury, like Undyne expressed whenever everyone decided to go get sno-cones and they weren't serving anything hot she could order.  

"hey."  Sans' voice came from the other side of Papyrus' door.  

"I AM NOT SPEAKING TO YOU UNTIL YOU APOLOGIZE!  IT IS NOT UP TO MY BROTHER TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT I GO IN TO WORK!  THERE ARE PEOPLE IN NEED OF MY MANY TALENTS WHO ARE - " He broke off to sneeze.  After the first one, he grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on the floor next to him and covered his nose hole.  He tossed the used ones in a trash can next to his desk once his nose had also finished betraying him.  "- WHO ARE NOW GOING TO HAVE TO PRESS ON WITHOUT ME.  IT WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT, EVEN THOUGH I BELIEVE IN THEM!  THEY WILL BE ABLE TO CARRY ON, BUT THE ONLY REASON THAT THEY HAVE TO IS BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"sorry."  

"FINE.  I ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY AND YOU MAY COME IN."  

The door opened and Sans walked in backwards, carrying a tray.  "they said at work to take your time getting better, so here's some breakfast in bed from your best bro."  He set the tray on Papyrus' lap.  Poptarts and coffee.  At least Sans appeared to have put the poptarts in the toaster this time.  

"I AM TOUCHED," Papyrus said.  "EVEN IF YOUR ACTIONS WERE MISGUIDED, I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CAME FROM A PLACE OF FAMILIAL CONCERN."  

"i guess you can call me my brother's keeper, right?"  He chuckled.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!  I AM THE RESPONSIBLE BROTHER.  IF YOU READ MY PROFILE ON MY BLOG, IT CLEARLY DESCRIBES ME AS DEPENDABLE.  I AM NOT JUST COOL AND POPULAR."  

"yeah you need way more words to describe yourself.  you can fit a few thousand words on your profile, you've got some time, and we've got a thesaurus."  

Papyrus tested the poptart.  He didn't taste anything odd, so he decided to go ahead and eat it.  Sans had once been surprisingly ambitious and had used a large syringe to remove part of the poptart filling and replace it with mayonnaise.  It was always wise to be careful, and Papyrus' online profile  _ also _ described him as "APPROPRIATELY CAUTIOUS."  

He decided that once Sans was distracted, he would make himself a real breakfast.  Getting up immediately and cooking for himself would probably hurt Sans' feelings, and then he would have to deal with Sans pretending that his feelings weren't hurt by talking sarcastically about how hurt his feelings were.  

"tori said she'll come by later," Sans said.  

That sounded almost like a threat, to Papyrus.  Sans wouldn't do anything if he just got up and went to work, but if Toriel knew he was ill and he went anyway, well...she would probably express disappointment.  She might even call him "irresponsible," despite what his profile said online.

"THIS IS A COLD!  I HAVE NO NEED FOR A HEALER!  I DON'T EVEN NEED TO REST, SO I AM ALREADY BEING OVERLY CAREFUL."

"well, you know tori.  humor her, for your big bro's sake."

Papyrus sighed.  At least she would make him something healthy, if she came by.  Sans would likely order pizza if he was left to provide dinner for them.

"since you're slacking off, i should probably get something done today to make up for it."  Sans sat down in the chair at Papyrus' desk and fell asleep.  The familiar sounds of his snores tricked Papyrus into wasting an hour of his time by napping, as well.

He woke up feeling worse than when he fell asleep.  Papyrus had no idea why everyone said naps were good for a monster's health.  He started to cough, and several minutes passed before he could stop.  His throat tickled badly after that, another coughing fit lying in wait for another moment of weakness.  

Sans must have tiptoed away when he realized he had successfully tricked Papyrus into resting, because he returned with a glass of water when he heard Papyrus' cough.  He left again fairly soon after that, rushing away like he had important business.  What an absurd thought!  Perhaps there was a salt shaker that didn't have sugar in it, somewhere, and Sans would not stand for the oversight.

Bored, Papyrus took out his phone and gave Undyne a call.  She, at least, would understand.

"I'd better hear that you're keeping your bony butt in bed!"  Papyrus had to pull the phone away from his ear hole, Undyne's voice was so loud.  

"UNDYNE, I WAS SURE AT LEAST THAT YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES, AND IT IS A BLOW TO EVERYONE I COULD HAVE HELPED THAT I CANNOT FULFILL THEM TODAY," Papyrus said.

"Yup!  But they can suck it up for once!"  

Even if she didn't seem to understand how important he was, talking to Undyne made him slightly less bored.  After she hung up, he used his phone to adjust the profile on his online persona.  

Some foul hacker had apparently gotten into his account and added descriptive words.  They all started with A, as if that villain had just pasted adjectives from some kind of online list instead of carefully considering how best to describe someone like Papyrus.  It was the laziness that bothered him more than the hacking, he decided.  

He deleted the additions, leaving a few that seemed appropriate, and started adding ones that would actually help a potential new fan understand what the great Papyrus was all about.  

The doorbell ringing interrupted him.  He let Sans answer the door for once, assuming that it was Toriel.  It was rude not to greet her, but being sick did give him an excuse to miss out on their pun-filled hellos.  

The thundering footsteps up the stairs told him that he was mistaken.  It was rare for him to be wrong, but he was strong and cool enough to accept his error. 

Undyne ran into the room.  "That's it!"

"I ADMIRE YOUR PASSION!  WHAT IS IT?  WELL, WHATEVER IT IS, IT IS!  ...IT!"  

"Yeah!  You're done with being sick, right?  I'm here to help make that happen!"

"HAVE YOU LEARNED HEALING MAGIC SINCE THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE?"  Papyrus asked, confused.

"Nope!  But I know EXACTLY how to deal with a cold!"  

"YOU DO?  OF COURSE YOU DO!"  He should have called Undyne from the start!

"It's right in the freaking name.  What you need is to CRANK UP THE HEAT!"  She threw back her head and laughed.

"SINCE I DO NOT HAVE SKIN, I'M NOT SURE..."

"You just need to make it even hotter!"  Undyne grabbed the blanket folded at the end of Papyrus' bed and tossed it over him.  

He pulled it down off his head.  "OH.  I...SEE?"

"Alphys was telling me that we get fevers because the heat kills the germs, right?  So we have to help that along."

"OH!  IT IS ONE OF HER REAL SCIENCE FICTION THINGS!"  

"Exactly!  100% real!  I wouldn't experiment with my friend's health, right?"  Undyne took several more blankets out of her inventory.  One of them was a beach blanket, and the others had tiny cartoon fish all over them.  She tossed them on, too.  "Is it working yet?"

Papyrus pulled these blankets down off his skull, too, so she could hear him.  "I AM NOT SURE, YET?"  It was getting a little warm, though.  All this conversation was making him feel like he had to cough.

"I only have one more blanket, but don't worry!  Blankets weren't my only idea."  She removed one last blanket from her inventory.  This one had the winking face of an anime character on it.  Papyrus could only look at it for a second before it was tossed over his head.

"I BELIEVE IT IS STARTING TO WORK?  AT LEAST, I AM SUFFOCATING UNDER ALL THESE BLANKETS, WHICH PROBABLY MEANS I AM GETTING A STEP CLOSER TO HEALTH?"  There was some worry in his voice.

"Fucking fantastic!  You'll be back at work in no time."

That was encouraging.

"Where do you keep the thermostat?"

"IT'S RIGHT OUTSIDE, IN THE HALL."  He decided that this was the only idea anyone had that might get him back to work tomorrow, so he had to try it.  

"I'll crank it up, and then boil some water!"

"WON'T THE BOILING WATER JUST MAKE THE BLANKETS WET AND COLD LATER?"  Maybe they should wait until Grillby got home with his fire magic.  

"I'm not dumping it on you, you nerd!"  She laughed.  "That's not a bad idea, but not with all the blankets.  I'm making TEA and you're going to drink ALL of it!  I'm going to make so much tea the steam will make those germs go running for their lives!"

She ran out, and Papyrus heard the heat kick on a minute later.  He snuggled under his pile of blankets, determined to try her idea.  He thought he might be sweating a tiny bit.  Was that the germs leaking out?  Disgusting!

He used a tissue to wipe his hopefully fevered brow dry.  

Sans shuffled in.  "uh. heh. you look cozy."

"I AM NOT TRYING TO GET COMFORTABLE!  UNDYNE AND I ARE SMOKING THE ILLNESS OUT!"  

"cool."  He snickered.  "i mean--"

"YES I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU INTENDED TO SAY."  

"i mean--"

Thankfully, the teakettle started screaming downstairs, interrupting his brother before he could make some awful pun about being warm.  

Sans tried again.  "it's kind of--"  

Undyne burst into the room, boiling kettle in hand.  "You're getting better if it kills you!"  She splashed some water into a mug and held it out for Papyrus to take.  The cup smelled very strongly of mint.

He started to take a sip and she knocked the mug out of his hand.  "Let it STEEP!"  

How could he have forgotten?  He had tea with Undyne and the king all the time.  Perhaps the illness or the suffocating heat were starting to get to him.  "YES, OF COURSE!"  

She picked up the mug and poured him another cup and Papyrus waited a few seconds before drinking it.  

"i've got a burning question for you, bro," Sans said.

"WELL, PUT OUT THE FLAMES OF YOUR CURIOSITY BY ALLOWING ME TO ANSWER."

"you look uncomfortable."

"...THAT IS NOT A QUESTION."  

"yeah."

"He just has to suck it up for a couple hours, and then he'll be good as new!"  Undyne said.  "Probably."

"he could just rest for a couple days instead, though.  that's what usually works."

"GIVE ME MORE TEA!"  More than one day of slacking?  Papyrus didn't even want to contemplate it.

"That's what I like to hear!"  She dumped more hot water into the mug.  "I'll make some soup for lunch!  And put chili peppers in it!"

Sweat was pouring down Papyrus' skull.  "...SANS HAS A STASH OF HOT SAUCE HE USES FOR PRANKS THAT HE KEEPS UNDER HIS BED."  

"I like your enthusiasm!"

Sans' usual smile was twitching downward.  When Undyne left again to make soup, Papyrus reassured him.  "I AM SURE THAT SHE WILL PROBABLY NOT ACTUALLY KILL ME!"  He was  _ pretty _ sure.

"ok."

The doorbell rang, and Papyrus was struck with a sudden fear.  Toriel was coming over.  He had allowed himself to forget.  He looked over to say something to Sans, but he was gone and Papyrus heard the door downstairs opening.  

He wanted to get up and greet her, but it was important to continue his treatment.  Undyne and Toriel were having a conversation downstairs.  He recognized Toriel's footsteps coming towards his bedroom.  

"I see," Toriel said, cold.

"I SEE YOU, TOO!  HELLO?"  Papyrus was confused, but he belatedly realized that she was talking to Undyne behind her.  

His bedroom door closed, and Undyne and Toriel had a loud argument outside.  He could hear every word.  

Sans came in through the closet.  He would want to avoid the fight in the hall.  

"NOW I AM NEVER GOING TO KNOW IF UNDYNE'S METHOD WOULD HAVE WORKED," Papyrus complained.

"oh well."  Sans nudged the trash can by Papyrus' desk next to the bed.  

Papyrus was actually surprised by the cleaning impulse from his brother.  He could easily reach the garbage can himself by just throwing whatever trash he had, and he had considered that a way for him to stay sharp while he was bedridden, but he wasn't going to discourage Sans from such un-Sanslike behavior.

"aim here when you puke," Sans said.

"I AM NOT GOING TO--"  But, now that Sans mentioned it, he was not feeling quite himself.  He mopped his forehead with another tissue.

Sans started to pull off a few of the blankets, and the uncomfortable feeling slowly receded.

"I AM NOT GOING TO PUKE," Papyrus said, with more confidence.  

"maybe fish don't get better the same way skeletons do," Sans said.

"...THAT'S POSSIBLE.  IT COULD BE A MISUNDERSTANDING."  

"yup."  

There was a loud crash against the wall right outside Papyrus' door.  He started to get up.  The door opened and Undyne and Toriel both came in.  They both seemed calm.  

"Hey!  Get your bones back in bed!"  Undyne said.

"Yes, my dear Papyrus," Toriel said.  "It is important that you rest.  With two or three blankets."  She glanced at Undyne. 

"Yeah!  Just a reasonable number of blankets.  We don't want to go overboard."  Undyne was grinning.

"Tea is always helpful, however," Toriel said.  She smiled.  "And soup would make a nice lunch."

"SANS.  I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S GOING ON."

"no one died," Sans said.

"WELL...THEN...I WOULD NOT MIND SOME MORE TEA?"  

Papyrus realized that he was outnumbered.  He supposed that it would be a display of his wisdom to just accept that he was going to rest for the whole day, rather than try to escape the overprotective kindness of his friends and family.

He supposed that this was just the fate of a monster as devastatingly popular as himself, the Great Papyrus.  He reminded himself to add "devastatingly popular" to his profile once he had a minute to himself.  

**Author's Note:**

> This fic prompted [some thoughts](http://it-refused.tumblr.com/post/164656401767/i-see-toriel-and-undyne-as-likefriends-in-the) about Undyne and Toriel's friendship.


End file.
